I’m watching Antiques Road Show and this guy has a flute that was played by Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The flute is made of ivory from the tusks of a brown dwarf star. It’s been appraised at the value of one observational time machine trip (past only) and a large chili cheese tots. Public television is on a roll.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was the tectonic inspirational force behind the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull), Eric Burdon, and Dan, a guy at work who knew who he was when I asked.

A few forreal’s forya: Kirk changed his name from Ronald to Roland because he was inspired in a dream to switch the two letters around. Later, he added Rahsaan because he heard it in a dream. Kirk was always spilling over the edges of himself. He played two instruments at once because one wasn’t enough. He was politically outspoken. He always had to lead the band. And he wore clothes eccentric even for a jazz musician.

Scientifically speaking, I don’t advise making real world decisions based on the bizness your unconscious mind cooks up. The ways that could go bad…

I so infrequently write actual biographical content here that I feel I should point out that the forreal’s communicated two paragraphs previous were actually taken from Wikipedia and not fictions of my mental undulations.

Without further crap, I present to you my favorite Kirk klassic, “Volunteered Slavery” from Volunteered Slavery (1969).

Please share your thoughts on Roland Kirk and faster-than-light physics, but be most certain of all to enjoy…

Everything is rhythm.
You aren’t even a thing at all, really,
other than the amalgamation of the rhythms of the motions of sub-atomic particles
that compose your mind, your body, and your interactions.

In this infinite variety of rhythm, you exist.

And as part of the process in motion,
you lay down themes and patterns
on the skins of your life each day,
getting up, getting down,
with chaotic insertions, improvisations.
Trying to get in the groove.

Everything is rhythm.
Orbits, seasons, walking, economies, planet-killing asteroids, hide-and-seek, the way a bobblehead moves, the life and death of stars, biological reproduction, and check it, I think your head is bobbing to the tune you just started listening to.

The song is “Back Back” by Archie Shepp from Kwanza (1969)… What was it about 1968-69 that made so many amazing things all happen around the same time? Perhaps things like the rapid unfolding of the fate of the human race just go in cycles with peaks, valleys, apexes and nadirs like everything else. Artists, assassins and astronauts are all part of the rhythm.

There’s a new King Crimson box set out this year (Amazon, 2010). Crimson geeks are stoked.

The tune “Moonchild” is from In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969), and is presented in two parts below. It goes from spooky to soothing to utterly abstract. This seminal album was only made up of five songs, but they were broken into 12 sub-sections to satisfy contractual terms regarding the number of “titles” the band was to deliver. Record companies have tidied up the language in contracts since then. The album sold well, regardless.

The cover art was some of the most striking ever produced (see right). Here’s what Wikipedia says about the artist:

Barry Godber (1946–1970), a computer programmer, painted the album cover. Godber died in February 1970 of a heart attack, shortly after the album’s release.

Not much more explanation than that, but whoa, dude. Obviously this is evidence that Satan, The Crimson King himself, was involved in these shenanigans. Between the reckless behavior toward their innocent record label, and the covert art guy dying right after the album drops, surely you see it. And “Moonchild?” What’s THAT all about, anyway? Smells like Satan. Look at these Satan-y lyrics:

Call her moonchildDancing in the shallows of a riverLonely moonchildDreaming in the shadows of a willow.

Talking to the trees of thecobweb strangeSleeping on the steps of a fountainWaving silver wands to thenight-birds songWaiting for the sun on the mountain.

She’s a moonchildGathering the flowers in a garden.Lovely moonchildDrifting in the echoes of the hours.

Okay, it sounds more like hippie-poetry than anything else, but that cover art is sure Satan-y.

I don’t know if I can get past all the Satan-iness. I’m liable to swoon.

I’m a huge fan of his work in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Wikipedia describes the recording process for the album Bitches Brew (1970):

Once in the recording studio, the players were typically given only a few instructions: a tempo count, a few chords or a hint of melody, and suggestions as to mood or tone. Davis liked to work this way; he thought it forced musicians to pay close attention to one another, to their own performances, or to Davis’s cues, which could change at any moment. On the quieter moments of “Bitches Brew”, for example, Davis’s voice is audible, giving instructions to the musicians: snapping his fingers to indicate tempo, or, in his distinctive whisper, saying, “Keep it tight” or telling individuals when to solo.

In 3 parts, enjoy.

Song: In A Silent WayArtist: Miles DavisAlbum: In A Silent WayLabel: Columbia/LegacyBuy from: Amazon | iTunes